Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey is a naval commander whose ship comes under heavy fire from a vastly superior enemy vessel while on patrol off the Brazilian coast during the Napoleonic wars. Only the luck of the gods and Jack's renowned cunning save him and the crew from certain doom, enabling their ship to slip away from battle before all is lost in the icy depths of the ocean. With his pride and his ship in a poor way Jack vows to turn the tables on his foe and so begins a tense game of cat and mouse. Master and Commander is epic adventure, a fine old-fashioned Boy's Own yarn, with a faultless attention to detail and some rip roaring action set pieces. It's also a relief to find out that the largely press-ganged crew could be such a happy contented bunch, while the presence of small cherubic young boys, and the absence of any women, just seems to bring out their paternal side. Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of Evian.